MASK: Legacy Saga Interludes II: Weapons of Choice
by Darster
Summary: A dark time of year for Annie Turner provokes a fight and an philosophical query into the existence of alternate universes while revealing what really happened behind the scenes in Episode 7: The Ultimate Weapon.
1. Chapter 1

Mask: Legacy Saga Interlude II: Weapons of Choice

A dark time of year for Annie Turner provokes a fight and an philosophical query into the existence of alternate universes while revealing what happened behind the scenes in Episode 7: The Ultimate Weapon.

Author's Note: The Ultimate Weapon has always been one of my favorite and most frustrating MASK episodes, because it left this burning question unanswered: "What prompted Brad to suddenly return to the battlefield and save the day?" Hopefully this story of my answer will entertain you.

Special thanks need to go out to Zarius and Miratete-Your MASK universe, so different from mine and Lisa's, was the catalyst for prompting the beginning of this story and creating the Annie/Brad and Annie/Scott drama/interaction that I needed.

Special thanks as always to co-writer Lisa L for proofreading and the Roxy/Annie infighting that also helped the start of this story along.

Thanks to dshortklutz, my dear Annie fan, as well as Susan and all the other reviewers. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own Annie. Nobody else.

** Chapter 1 **

Upon being introduced to her first hangover, Annie Turner vowed never to drink like that again. One green eye reluctantly cracked open to find a glass of orange juice and bottle of aspirin sitting on the nightstand in her old bedroom. The other eye quickly followed when her nose picked up the reek of stale, musty alcohol that she'd smelled a million times in her career but never dreamed of smelling on herself.

Annie rolled over onto her back and covered her eyes with her hands, groaning, "What the hell was I thinking?"

She sat up and downed two aspirin with the orange juice to soothe her pounding head, then stumbled into the private bathroom Brad had attached to her bedroom years ago.

Twenty minutes later she stepped out of the shower and got dressed, feeling clean and very slightly more human. She grabbed the empty orange juice glass and let her nose lead her down to the kitchen where her father Brad was hard at work on breakfast. He flipped an omelette over and looked up at her approach.

"There's more orange juice in the refrigerator. I'll brew some coffee in a minute."

Annie pulled the orange juice out and poured another glass before sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Scott was worried and called here looking for you. I told him you'd be home this afternoon."

She looked up to see Brad very obviously smirking as he started the coffee and plated out breakfast.

"Thanks Dad, I'm glad you find this so amusing."

"I find the idea of you fighting with your boyfriend and running to your old man's house to get drunk somewhat amusing." Brad set a plate down in front of her. "You owe me a bottle of Jack by the way."

"I'm not talking to Jack anymore," Annie stated firmly. "He takes me down roads that I shouldn't be on."

Brad sat down across from her. "Like an philosophical road trip questioning the existence of alternate universes where Vanessa and I are married with kids and you and Scott aren't together because you never existed?"

Annie poked her omelette with a fork, realizing how ridiculous that sounded now that she was sober. "Something like that."

They ate the rest of their breakfast in companionable silence and tagged teamed the dishes before sitting down in the living room on Brad's couch. Annie held her previously promised cup of coffee while leaning carefully against her father's shoulder.

"It's not like you to turn to the bottle, Annie," Brad said with a twinge of seriousness. "You wanna talk about what happened?"

Annie took a sip of coffee and sighed. "Roxanne called Scott last night with some 'emergency' right as we were just about to sit down to dinner. I swear she does that on purpose any time we get the smallest bit of quality time together. And he of course rushed off to rescue the damsel in distress, completely forgetting the whole reason for dinner and why I take vacation this time of year. It just makes me so angry because he knows that this is a hard time of year for me. He knows I specifically take this time of year off because it's the anniversary of that god awful accident between you and Gloria. He knows I like to be here with family and that dinner was special because we NEVER get any significant quality time. Yet there he goes, running off and taking it all, and me, for granted."

Brad nodded sympathetically as soundless verification passed between the two of them. The forced collision between Condor and Shark that left Gloria Baker hospitalized on that god awful mission to destroy VENOM's Ultimate Weapon would always be fresh in their minds at this time, no matter how many years passed in between. Annie always took vacation from the Rangers that entire week so that she could be with the ones she loved the most during these dark days. Most of the week consisted of much needed quality time with Scott, but the day of the accident, which happened to be today, was always reserved for Brad. He and Annie always "planned" some spontaneous random activity to get away from it all on that day, but this year was turning out to be an epic failure, making a hung over Annie feel even worse.

"After Scott left, I went on a cleaning rampage to vent my anger and found some old pictures of him with some girl in New Zealand on some really old MASK mission and I snapped." Annie set her coffee mug down so she could turn and look at Brad. "I mean really snapped Dad...I ripped the pictures out and tossed them and several other photo albums all across our living room in a jealous fit. All I could think about was how many other girls he 'had' in however many other countries...so I left him a note telling him that if he didn't care to be with me, he could just go find one of them and left the place looking like some crazed photographer lived there."

"That explains the phone call this morning then."

"What did Scott say?"

"He was a little worried about your state of mind. I was too last night."

Annie felt a flush rising in her cheeks. "How bad was it?"

"You're just a very philosophical drunk and you watch too many Science Fiction movies. You should be focusing on what's going on in this life, instead of borrowing trouble from some other fictitious alternate existence. Especially one where Vanessa and I are married with children." Brad paused and let out a small chuckle, "She's not the type."

"I know it's ridiculous," Annie lamented. "And my stupid drunken binge ruined any plans we had for today."

"Apparently making you feel better IS the plan," Brad chuckled again, pulling her close. "And pumpkin, the only universe that matters to me is the one with you in it. I was scared to death when you came into my life, but now I can't picture it without you. Focusing on you has gotten me through more hard times than I care to remember. I honestly don't know what I would do without you."

Annie didn't answer, choosing instead to quietly snuggle up against him, which was always the universal solution when things got rough. Brad hugged her tightly and let his mind drift back in time to her and that roughest of rough times...


	2. Chapter 2

MASK: Legacy Saga Interludes II: Weapons of Choice

Chapter 2:

Author's Notes: Thank you Zarius and Susan for the reviews. Yes, I am cheeky. No, Annie does not need rehab. Alcohol advancing the plot in both interlude stories doesn't mean anything except it's a good plot starter. :) Please enjoy the next installment. One final chapter to go before we're finished.

Disclaimer: Still only own Annie.

**Chapter 2**

_*FLASH*_

_Brad Turner fidgeted with the hospital wristband and fretted like the strings of the guitars he played for a living. He sat inside the hospital nursery holding a baby girl that wore a matching band and slept peacefully in his arms. He might have been shaking had he not been afraid of dropping the precious life he held. Even accounting for a small margin of error, the paternity test was conclusive beyond a reasonable doubt. Baby Girl Turner was, in fact, his, just like Vanessa had told him. Now he had to name her._

_He looked down at her sleeping face and quietly asked, "What is your name, little girl?"_

_"I'm thinkin' somethin' musical," drawled the southern accent from somewhere near Brad's shoulder, "Somethin' that suits yer personality."_

_Brad would have taken advantage of Nevada's Safe Haven law and bolted from the hospital hours ago had it not been for Dusty Hayes' calming presence. The father of two, soon to be three by rumor, came rushing at Brad's panicked call that Vanessa had dumped a baby on his doorstep. After calming Brad down and making quite clear he'd have none of this "abandonment nonsense", Dusty drove Brad to the hospital and waited with him through the grueling set of checks, balances, tests, and verifications all leading up to this point. He leaned over Brad's shoulder to take one of the baby's tiny hands into his big burly one, already wrapped around her little infant finger._

_"Purty little thing, ain't she?"_

_Buddy Hawkes jogged up the hallway to the nursery, momentarily disrupting Brad and Dusty's conversation. Once Dusty had the full story, he had immediately called on their mutual friend and MASK intelligence expert, unwilling to take any chances on safety with Vanessa Warfield involved. After they'd filled him in, Buddy disappeared to make a few discreet inquiries then quickly returned, showcasing his softer side by tucking a Raggedy Ann doll beside the baby in the crook of Brad's arm. Not many people realized that under the hard shelled mechanic was a heart of gold._

_"Made a pit stop at the gift shop on the way back."_

_"Raggedy Ann?" Brad arched an eyebrow at Buddy, not quite sure if he should be offended or not._

_"You look at the red curls on that girl and tell me she doesn't remind you of Raggedy Ann."_

_"He's kinda got a point there," Dusty conceded. "Still a pretty little belle though."_

_"Hmmm." The wheels in Brad's head began to turn as he muttered to himself. "Belle Ann... Anna Belle ... Annie Belle..."_

_The baby opened her eyes._

_"Like that, do you?" He asked her. "Is that your name then, Annie Belle?"_

_She smiled at him._

_"Annie Belle Turner," Buddy mused._

_"Yep, that's her," Dusty nodded rigorous confirmation, finally letting go of the baby's hand. "It's got a special kinda ring for a special girl."_

_"All right then Annie Belle," Brad stood up holding the baby more confidently than he felt, "let's go get you introduced."_

**FLASH forward-Just over 10 years ago**

Yet again, Brad Turner sat in a hospital room, this time waiting for Gloria Baker to wake up from a coma he had put her in. VENOM had created an "Ultimate Weapon" that disrupted the normal workings of the MASK vehicles, causing Condor to stall and crash into Shark without warning. Brad literally had no control over the situation and could only watch helplessly as Condor's helicopter skids crashed into Shark's roof, crushing Gloria's body beneath the twisted metal. In all honesty, it wasn't his fault, but the crushing weight of guilt hung around him like a dark, evil cloud, threatening to overwhelm him and completely shatter all of his usual self confidence.

Thankfully, every cloud has a silver lining. Brad watched his walk over to his chair from the room's private bath and climb into his lap, curling back up in her blanket and tucking her head perfectly into the crook of his neck. In turn, his chin had a comfortable resting spot atop her bright red curls. He completed the pose by wrapping his arms tightly around his Annie Belle, marveling at the comfort his daughter continued to bring him after her whirlwind appearance just over ten years ago.

As usual, it was Dusty Hayes who had to remind him of it. He and wife Sunni had also been in and out of the hospital to check on Gloria, Sunni's sister and Dusty's sister in law. Dusty had failed miserably to get through to Brad and get him back out on the battlefield, so against Brad's express wishes, he pulled out the big guns and brought Annie with him on his last visit of the night. Annie climbed up into Brad's lap and refused to move, which normally would have brought on some disciplinary action, but one look into those big, worried green eyes made him forget all about scolding both her and Dusty. Brad told her she could stay as long as she sat with him quietly. Annie held her part of the bargain mostly because she was asleep all night, but now it was the start of a new day.

"I'm hungry Dad," Annie stated quietly from her father's lap, stifling a yawn.

Brad looked over at the clock reading 7 AM. "Dusty's just opening up, pumpkin. I'll give him a call in a little bit and see if he'll bring us some breakfast."

"Okay."

Brad's hopes that Annie might doze off again were dashed quickly.

"Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"What, pumpkin?"

"Why aren't you out with your team?"

"Did Dusty put you up to this?" Brad snapped sharply. "If he's been putting ideas in your head..."

Brad trailed off when Annie sat up and looked at him with an intelligence that belied her tender years. "They need you."

"Gloria might need me."

It was the excuse he had given Matt when he had asked to stay behind at the hospital. _Gloria might need me._

Annie shook her head in the negative. "Gloria doesn't need you. Gloria has Dusty, Sunni, and all these doctors and nurses. Your team needs you."

"It's not that simple, Annie."

"Sure it is. You're just making it hard."

"Mind your manners and remember who you're talking to young lady," Brad rebuked her.

Annie looked down at her shoes and then up at Brad out of the corner of her eye, daring her father's ire again. "Dusty told me Scott went on the mission with the team. He said T-Bob short circuits when the ray gun thingy is going to go off and Scott is supposed to warn them when he goes all bonkers."

"Annie, we've been through this," Brad lectured her through a very long sigh, "I don't want you asking questions and getting involved in MASK missions...and Dusty should know by now not to encourage you, especially where Scott is involved."

"What if something happens to him?"

"If Scott went on the mission, he'll be in Rhino's control room. That truck is built like a tank...he'll be fine."

"What if something happens to someone else on the team?"

"All right Annie, that's enough," Brad turned on the parental warning tone that usually brooked no argument. "No more mission discussions, got it?"

Annie climbed down from her father's lap, but not for her usual after discipline sulk. Instead, she looked straight at him, uncharacteristically challenging his authority, "Dad, what happened to Gloria wasn't your fault. But if something happens to Scott or someone else on the team and you aren't there, it will be."

Brad had to occasionally remind himself that Annie was also her mother's daughter. Every once in a while Vanessa would shine through that charming and usually obedient little girl, and never more so than right now. Annie looked at him with Vanessa's eyes and spoke to him in Vanessa's voice. Lurking behind those eyes was an accusation that finally spurred Brad Turner back to action: _If something happens to them, I won't forgive you._ The only thing worse than the guilt of crashing into Gloria would be the thought of letting his baby girl down. Brad had come face to face with his own Ultimate Weapon.

"Scott and the team need you," Annie reiterated passionately.

Brad stood and picked Annie up, hugging her tightly before setting her back down in his vacated chair. "Stay here with Gloria until Dusty gets back, pumpkin. If she wakes up, she might need company." When he saw Annie smirking at him, he added, "You're still in trouble for not listening to me. We'll talk about it when I get back."

Annie smiled Vanessa's smile as she stretched out and curled up under her blanket, not caring if she was in trouble or not. "I love you, Daddy."


	3. Chapter 3

MASK: Legacy Saga Interludes II: Weapons of Choice

Author's Notes: Here is the last chapter of this sidefic. Thanks again to Miratete and Zarius, both for their kind reviews and inspiration through their alternate universe. Also thanks to Susan for her loyalty to the stories. And of course, my awesome co-writer and proof reader Lisa L., who lets me play in the universe she originally created. Here's Scott's take on the whole Ultimate Weapon episode.

Disclaimer: I only own Annie.

** Chapter 3 **

**Present**

Scott Trakker had not been a happy camper when he got back to the apartment he shared with Annie Turner. Once again, he had to bail his sister Roxanne out of jail, this time for breaking and entering somewhere in Reno. God only knows what she was trying to steal up there...he didn't bother to ask. What he did bother to do is lecture her the whole way home about the lifestyle she was leading and how it had seriously interfered with his date night with Annie. As usual, the lecture seemed to be blowing in one of Roxanne's ears and right out the other. Scott could only sigh, drop her off at the mansion, and hope that Annie wasn't too pissed at him when he got home.

That had certainly not been the case. Scott had spent the better part of the night putting his old photo albums back to rights after Annie had tossed them throughout the living room in her jealous fit. The note she had left him was equally scathing and included some uncharacteristic and choice words that he chose to ignore, opting to take the high road and settle in to weather the storm since she had every right to be upset with him. He had assurances from Brad that she'd be home soon, so he just sat back on the couch to wait.

In a way, Annie had done him a favor. Scott hadn't taken out these albums or thought about some of these missions in quite some time. Taking a trip down memory lane was a good way to distract himself from worrying about her. The photo that seemed to set Annie off was the one of him, T-Bob, and the lovely Maori maiden Te Kaha in New Zealand's Glowworm Grotto. The Trakker Foundation was on a mission there to preserve the native culture. Admittedly, he'd been immediately enchanted by Te Kaha's native beauty, not to mention the way she had rubbed her nose against his to greet him. And of course, he had impressed her by saving her and her grandfather, the guardian of the Grotto, from VENOM when they had staged a raid in search of the giant pearls hidden within the Grotto's oversized clams. Scott felt a stab of the old pride from that mission as he remembered how Te Kaha had told her uncle, the village chieftain, how brave he had been. The picture in question had had been taken shortly thereafter.

Scott sighed. Only Annie could figure out a way to blow an innocent picture completely out of proportion. He honestly hadn't thought about that mission, or Te Kaha, in years. Thoughts of her had rapidly faded away not long after he'd come home to his red haired, green eyed, American Girl. Still, he made a mental note to ask his father how the tribe was doing these days.

Another picture caught Scott's eye as he heard the door to the apartment opening and closing. He looked up from the couch to see Annie standing sheepishly in the living room entryway.

"I might have overreacted and been a little hard on you," she admitted solemnly.

Scott raised his arm up over the couch and held out the new picture, acknowledging his own guilt, "I might not have been taking your feelings into consideration."

Annie walked over and took the photo from him, exclaiming, "Oh wow! Where did you find this one?"

"Somewhere in this mess you left me."

Scott patted the couch cushion beside him, inviting Annie to sit down as she examined the picture more closely. It showed the two of them as pre-teens, arms wrapped around each other's necks, all smiles. Annie flipped the picture over and read the caption inscribed on the back aloud.

"_Scott and Annie making up after their 'first fight'...circa 1986_." She paused and said again, "Wow."

"Mmm hmm," Scott agreed. "Right after the Ultimate Weapon mission. If memory serves, we were fighting about the same thing then as we are right now."

"Yeah," Annie nodded, "We were."

** FLASH - just over 10 years ago - Trakker Mansion **

"...and then when VENOM turned up the juice, T-Bob went all crazy and kept spinning around Rhino's cabin..."

Scott sat on the lawn of the Trakker Estate where a party in Gloria Baker's honor was in full swing. She had awoken from her coma and made a complete recovery from her accident with Brad. Annie Turner sat beside him looking skeptical as he attempted to wow her with the story of how the mission turned out.

"...I thought we were goners until your dad showed up with Condor and made a hologram of a whole bunch of MASK vehicles. You should have seen VENOM run away like a bunch of scared little girls."

Clearly he was not catering to his target audience in all his showboating. Annie told him so with a look. "A bunch of scared little girls?"

"They were driving all over each other trying to get away!"

"Like a bunch of scared little girls?" Annie's tone gave Scott one last chance to retract the comment.

This was completely lost on Scott, who wasted his opportunity by mocking Miles Mayhem, " 'We can't fight all those MASK vehicles! Let's get out of here!' "

"...and then even though it was 'a girl' who talked her father into going back to the mission and got in trouble for it, nobody cared, especially not Scott Trakker who was too busy being full of himself, The End!"

"What? That's not how the story ends!"

This was not one of Scott's more brilliant replies and T-Bob knew it. "Uh...Scott..."

"Do you take anything seriously?!"

"Scott, don't answer that!" T-Bob tried unsuccessfully to warn him.

"Huh?" Scott said not so intelligently. "What are you talking about, Annie?"

"Never mind. Just forget it," Annie snapped at him, standing up and storming away. "Keep telling T-Bob your stupid story! He's programmed to listen to everything you say!"

"Hey, leave me out of it!" T-Bob said defensively, not wanting to get caught in the pre-teen angst yet again.

"Annie!"

Scott called after her but she didn't turn around. He threw his hands up in defeat and slouched dejectedly back to where his father and the other agents were gathered around Dusty's grill.

"Girls!" he lamented, shoving his hands in his pockets as he kicked a stray rock off the pathway in front of him.

Brad Turner's shades moved down the bridge of his nose ever so slightly as Matt Trakker asked his son, "What's wrong, Scott?"

Scott looked up at his father in boyish dismay. "I was trying to tell Annie about how Brad saved the mission and she got all mad at me. She said I don't take anything seriously and called my story stupid! She's never gotten mad when I've told stories before...I don't get it."

Brad's Aviators slid further down his nose as he watched the scene play out.

"Did you consider that she's never been part of the story before, Scott?" Matt prompted his son kindly. "Is it possible you weren't filling in all the pieces?"

"When does he ever?" T-Bob chimed in.

Scott glared at him. "You're not helping!"

"Relax Scott, I don't think it's you Annie's really mad at. She's just being hard on you because someone else," Buddy's eyes shifted to Brad, "is being hard on her."

Brad's eyes shifted in turn to Dusty's back as the southerner tended the grill. "Whose fault is that?"

"Go ahead and blame me if ya want," Dusty quickly retorted, never turning away from his cooking, "but the truth is that you can't handle your little girl kicking your thick head out of your stubborn ass."

A flash of comprehension suddenly shot through Scott, making him finally realize what was going on. He glanced back at Matt guiltily, "I didn't mean to hurt Annie's feelings. If she hadn't gotten Brad to come back, we might have been goners."

"Maybe you should tell her that," Matt suggested.

Scott scuffed his shoes on the ground. "She probably doesn't want to talk to me."

Brad started to get up. "I'll talk to her."

"That will only make it worse," Buddy replied, ignoring Brad's glare. "Do you want me to go talk to her, Scott?"

"Would you, Buddy? Please?" Scott begged.

Buddy sought Annie out and found her sitting under her favorite tree on the grounds, knees tucked under her chin, sulking. He sat down beside her and offered her one of the two chocolate chip cookies he'd palmed from Dusty's dessert tray.

"Are you sure you're really mad at Scott?" Buddy prompted.

Annie glanced sidelong at him and then sighed, taking the cookie. "No."

"Being hard on him isn't going to change your dad being hard on you."

"I know," Annie said quietly, taking a bite of her cookie.

Buddy could sense there was more she wanted to say. Coaxing it out of her wouldn't be easy. She worshiped the ground her father walked on and would probably rather be struck down by lightning than say anything remotely bad about him.

"It's okay to be angry, Red. It doesn't mean you love your dad any less."

"He's so stubborn," she finally admitted. "At first I didn't even care he was mad. I figured he'd forget when he left for the mission. But he didn't. He never does. So even though I was miles away at the hospital and nowhere near what was going on, I get in trouble. Meanwhile, Scott gets to show off all he wants and it's okay. He doesn't even seem to care about what *I* did."

"Oh, he cares," Buddy smirked. "All that showing off he does is strictly for your benefit."

A flush rose in Annie's cheeks. "I guess I was a little hard on Scott."

"Maybe you should tell him that."

"Yeah, I should."

Buddy gave Annie a big hug and the second cookie before he got up and walked back across the grounds to the gathered group. He shot Scott a thumbs up and motioned toward Annie's direction. Scott converted T-Bob to motor scooter mode and rode up beside her. He got off T-Bob and sat down beside her under the tree.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Annie." Scott apologized, "Getting your dad to come back saved the whole team."

"I know," she agreed. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. I wasn't even really mad at you to begin with."

"Friends?"

"Of course!"

Annie threw her arms around Scott's neck and gave him a big hug, smiling.

FLASH went the bulb of T-Bob's internal camera.

**FLASH - Present **

Annie's arms were once again around Scott's neck as she set the picture down and cuddled up against him. "I'm sorry."

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Annie, I promise you that I don't have any other girls hiding in any other countries. There's just you. You are the only girl for me. You are my Ultimate Weapon."

She rolled over in his arms and kissed him passionately. "How about we make up with a little Advanced Weapons Training?"

"Oh no," Scott's bad boy smirk appeared, "I still need to polish my sword."

"I've got tools for that," Annie replied in a seductive purr.

She shrieked gleefully as Scott scooped her up and kissed her wildly as he carried her to their bedroom. Thoughts of alternate universes and imaginary girlfriends quickly disappeared in his embrace. Whatever was going on in those worlds didn't matter...she was the Weapon of Choice in this one.


End file.
